Vacuum flasks



Oct. 16, 1962 LESLIE-SMITH 3,058,610

VACUUM FLASKS Filed Nov. 20, 1959 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 jii FIG]

A aura/me Les/[e Sm/f/z 6' 7 7' GENE Y5 Oct. 16, 1962 L. LESLIE-SMITH I5 1 VACUUM FLASKS Filed Nov. 20, 1959 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 FIGS - INVENTOE'Laura/ice Les [6 Jmi/fi United States Patent 3,058,610 VACUUM FLASKSLaurance Leslie-Smith, Grosvenor Gardens House, Grosvenor Gardens,London SW. 1, England Filed Nov. 20, 1959, Ser. No. 854,407 6 Claims.(Cl. 215-13) The present invention relates to vacuum flasks and moreparticularly to a construction of vacuum flask in which a pouringelement is interposed between the canister normally made of metal andthe vacuum bottle.

This pouring element serves not only to provide a pouring lip for thecontents of the flask but also serves to hold the upper end of thevacuum botle in and spaced from the casing so as to protect it fromshock and to locate it properly for the insertion of a suitable stopperor bung.

A pouring lip member is described and claimed in the specification of mycopending application Number 706,321.

In the pouring lip as described in the aforesaid specification thepouring lip member engages the bottle at two places, namely around thelip of the bottle by means of a skirt which engages the inside of thelip, and also by a lower member which depends from the inside of thepouring lip member in the form of a skirt which is sufliciently flexibleto allow slight movement of the bottle in the easing and also closely toengage the bottle all around its outer wall to provide a liquid seal inspite of the irregularities in shape normally found in vacuum bottles.

An object of the invention is to provide an alternative or further sealat this point and according to the present invention a seal between thepouring lip member and the vacuum bottle, which seal also serves to holdthe bottle in spaced relationship with the casing, comprises an annularmember which is separate from the pouring lip member and which engagesaround the neck or other portion of the bottle on the inner face and onits outer face engages the pouring lip member.

A simple form of the invention comprises a ring of suitable section madeof resilient material which embraces the neck of the bottle closely andwhich when the pouring lip member is in position also engages thepouring lip member at all points around its inner face and at the sametime permits the bottle a lateral adjustment inside the canister byvirtue of its resiliency. The ring may for example be made of rubber orother elastic material which is compressed between the bottle and theinside face of the pouring lip member.

However in one form of the invention the annular sealing member has itsinner and outer face formed on limbs which are interconnected eitherdirectly or by means of a web-like member, as for example in an Hsection.

Alternatively, the annular sealing member may itself be made of asubstantially non-deformable material, for example a polyamide, but theconstruction of the annular member may be such that it is flexible. Thusan annular flared skirt of a polyamide may be formed, the innerperiphery of which engages the neck of the bottle and the outerperiphery of which engages the inside face of the pouring lip member.This flared skirt may if desired be of U section so that when the bottleis in position the U section tends to close by being squeezed betweenthe pouring lip member and the neck of the bottle and so forms a sealpreventing any liquid leaking past the joint between the pouring lipmember and the mouth of the bottle penetrating into the body of thecanister. The U-shaped skirt may be positioned either so that the U isthe right way up or is inverted.

The invention will now be described With reference to the accompanyingdrawings in which:

FIGURE 1 shows a side elevation of a vacuum flask 3,658,610 PatentedOct. 16, 1962 "ice part broken away showing one construction inaccordance with the present invention;

FIGURE 2 shows a section similar to the broken part of FIGURE 1 of analternative form of the invention;

FIGURE 3 shows yet another form;

FIGURE 4 shows a further form;

FIGURE 5 shows yet another form; and

FIGURE 6 shows yet another form.

Referring to FIGURE 1, a vacuum flask comprises a canister 1 having aseparate screw in shoulder 2 which engages a pouring lip member 3 whichserves by means to be described to hold and to locate the upper end ofthe bottle 4 in position in the canister.

The pouring lip member 3 may be provided with screw means 5 for engaginga screw stopper 6 which carries a depending bung 7 for sealing the mouthof the bottle 4. The pouring lip member 3 has an inwardly and downwardlydirected skirt portion 8 which engages the inside of the lip of themouth of the flask 4. In addition to this seal there is, in accordancewith this invention, provided a secondary seal which takes the form of aseparate annular sealing member 9 which surrounds the neck of the bottle4 and engages the inside face of the pouring lip member 3. In the formshown in FIGURE 1 the sealing member 9 comprises an annular member ofinverted U section and made of a plastic material such for example aspolyethylene or a polyamide which has the ability to deform and to closearound the neck of the bottle 4 and also to press against the insideface of the pouring lip member 3 to form a liquid tight seal and toprevent any contents of the flask which leak between the skirt 8 and thelip of the bottle 4 from penetrating into the body of the canister 1.

In order to locate the sealing member 9 the inside of the pouring lipmember 3 is provided with a shoulder 10 against which the lower edge ofthe member 9 is located. Furthermore the inner curvature of the pouringlip member 3 can match the curvature of the member 9.

FIGURE 2 shows an alternative form of sealing member 9 which in thisform has the cross section of the letter M. The leg of the M, whichengages the inner face of the pouring lip member 3, lies in a recess 11formed between the shoulder 10 and the shoulder of the pouring lipmember 3. When in the form of the letter M the member 9 is able to openand close concertina fashion to provide a good seal between the flaskbottle 4 and the pouring lip member 3. In addition the leg of the memberbearing against the bottle 4 is permitted to adjust itself angularly tothat of the outside face of the bottle.

In the form shown in FIGURE 3 the sealing member 9 takes the form of theletter N with the cross member joining the right hand leg somewhat abovethe bottom of that leg. Here again the member 9 fits into a recessbetween the shoulder 10 on the inside of the pouring lip member 3 andthe upper shoulder of that member. This illustration shows the leg ofthe member bearing against the bottle 4 angulated to accommodate itselfagainst the edge of the bottle 4.

In the construction shown in FIGURE 3 the pouring lip member is notprovided with an upwardly projecting and annular extension to take ascrew stopper, as is shown in FIGURES 1 and 2, but is smoothed off tofinish somewhat above the flask bottle and an ordinary bung is employedto close the flask.

FIGURE 4 shows the sealing member 9 having a V- Shaped section. Theupper end of the leg engaging the pouring lip member 3 is provided witha projecting rib 12 of circular section which engages in a groove 13 ofsimilar section formed in the pouring lip member 3. If desired thisgroove 13 may extend beyond the half circle so that the rib 12 can besnapped into position by deforming the rib which conveniently is made ofa resilient material, for example polyethylene. Alternatively thepouring lip member 3 may be made of resilient material or if desiredboth members may be made of resilient material.

FIGURE 5 shows a further form of the invention in which the sealingmember 9 serves as the seal between the pouring lip member 3 and theflask bottle 4. The pouring lip member 3 is provided with an invertedgroove 14 so as to form with the inner shoulder 15 a wedged shaped skirtdepending around the shoulder 15. Into the groove 14 fits acorresponding shaped rib 16 on the sealing member 9 which in turn isprovided with a groove 17 into which fits the skirt formed on theshoulder 15. The sealing member 9, formed of a plastic which is eitherresilient in itself or is shaped so that the member itself isdeformable, is formed to embrace the lip 18 of the bottle 4 so as to fitsnugly both on the inside by means of the depending skirt 19 and on theoutside by the depending skirt 20. Conveniently the member 9 is made sothat the skirts 19 and 20 are forced apart when the lip of the bottle 4is pressed into the recess formed between them.

In addition to this member a secondary seal may be provided lower downthe neck of the bottle by means of a second sealing member 9 inaccordance with the present invention.

FIGURE 6 shows an alternative construction of member 9 to that shown inFIGURE 5. In this case the pouring lip member 3 is provided with asubstantially right angle internal shoulder 21 and the sealing member 9is provided with a correspondingly shaped rebate 22, the dependingskirts 19 and 20 operating in the manner described with reference toFIGURE 5.

The pouring lip members described with reference to the accompanyingdrawings can be shaped so as to accommodate either a screw stopper, anordinary push-in bung or any other form of closure, such for example asa snapon closure.

Furthermore the pouring lip member may be formed integrally with theshoulder of the canister instead of being a member separate from thenormal metal shoulder and in this case the combined shoulder and pouringlip member is preferably formed of a plastic.

What I claim is:

1. A vacuum flask assembly comprising a vacuum flask bottle having aneck portion terminating in a circumferential lip providing an openmouth, a canister enclosing said bottle and engaging at its upper end apouring lip member surrounding the neck of the bottle, a downwardly andinwardly directed skirt portion of the pouring lip member sealinglyengaging the inside of the lip of the mouth of the bottle, and aseparate annular member independent of the pouring lip member andremovably supported thereby and having an inner periphery and an outerperiphery, and means resiliently connecting the said inner and outerperipheries, the said inner periphery sealingly engaging around the neckof the bottle and the said outer periphery sealingly engaging an innersurface of the pouring lip member.

2. A vacuum flask assembly as claimed in claim 1 in which the annularmember comprises spaced interconnected limbs and outwardly opposingsurfaces on said limbs providing the said inner and outer peripheries ofthe annular member.

3. A vacuum flask assembly as claimed in claim 2 further including ashoulder formed on said inner surface of the pouring lip member forengaging the annular member to locate the annular member with respect tothe pouring lip member.

4. A vacuum flask assembly as claimed in claim 3 and including a furthershoulder on said inner surface of the pouring lip member and axiallyspaced from said first mentioned shoulder to form therewith an annularrecess for receiving the said outer face of the annular member.

5. A vacuum flask assembly as claimed in claim 2 and including anannular groove on said inner surface of the pouring lip member and anannular projection on said outer face of the annular member for engagingin the said groove.

6. The invention as defined in claim 1 in which the means includes anannular member separate from said pouring lip member for providing theseal between the pouring lip member and the inside of the lip of themouth of the bottle, and the seal between the pouring lip member and theoutside of the neck of the bottle, the said annular member having afirst depending skirt portion sealingly engaging the inside of the lipof the mouth of the bottle, a second depending skirt portion spaced fromthe first skirt portion and sealingly engaging the outside of the neckof the bottle, and means engaging the annular member with an innersurface of the pouring lip member.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS2,817,452 Bramming Dec. 24, 1957 2,830,722 Darmstadt Apr. 15, 19582,963,187 Bramming Dec. 6, 1960 2,969,887 Darmstadt Jan. 31, 1961FOREIGN PATENTS 480,943 Germany Nov. 30, 1926 242,967 Switzerland Nov.16, 1946

